Story by Gail Ainsworth
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Maui nō ka ‘oi, Hawaiian for “Maui is the best,” was cooked up by some marketing wiz to promote tourism. But you’d be wrong. The saying dates back centuries.
Ancient Hawaiians across the archipelago had a history of chant that included mele ho‘o‘ike‘ike, chants that were defined by their blatant bragging. Mele ho‘o‘ike‘ike could be quite rousing and often boastful of a particular beloved location. In the 1800s, Maui became the first island to take this tradition in a new direction, when Reverends S. Pa‘aluhi and Samuel Kapū Sr. of Ka‘ahumanu Church in Wailuku began to write songs using the phrase Maui nō ka ‘oi. Here’s an excerpt from Kapū’s song “Ku‘u Home ‘o Maui”:
Auē, ke aloha ē,
U‘i roselani ē,
Nani Haleakalā,
Ku‘u home ‘o Maui nō ka ‘oi,
Ku‘u home ‘o Maui nō ka ‘oi.
Oh, the love [I feel]!
For the roselani beauty
So lovely is Haleakalā
My home, Maui is the best!
My home, Maui is the best!
“Maui nō ka ‘oi” resonated with the island’s people. Subsequent songwriters seem to have had a near-obsession with the phrase, incorporating it in boasting songs that also praised Haleakalā and the roselani, Maui’s flower. Many of these songs were written anonymously, the poets humbly wanting to keep the name of their revered island foremost, rather than themselves.
Know that when you repeat “Maui nō ka ‘oi,” you are continuing a tradition that began with ancient Hawaiian chant, and two centuries of Maui song. — Gail Ainsworth
(And two decades of celebrating Maui in the pages of this magazine. — Ed.)
